GAA and RTÉ launch live and on-demand games online (VIDEO)

Noel Curran, Director General of RTÉ, and Páraic Duffy, Director General of the GAA, launched GAAGO, the new subscription-based online streaming service, which will offer live and on-demand GAA games to audiences outside of Ireland starting with the 2014 GAA Championships. The event hosted in RTÉ’s Studios was streamed live online to an international audience.

Launching the new GAAGO service, Duffy said, “We are delighted to announce details for GAAGO and we look forward to its roll out in the weeks and months ahead. For the first time our games will be available to followers around the globe through the same service and we are enthused at the prospect of making it easier for people – both GAA members and new audiences alike – to make a connection with top level football and hurling regardless of where they might be. I would like to acknowledge the expertise that RTÉ have brought to bear on this process and we look forward to building on what is another important part of the global media rights strategy announced last month.”

Curran said, “The launch of GAAGO is the latest evolution in the long and proud shared history between RTÉ and the GAA. RTÉ’s relationship with these games began in 1926 and has constantly grown and evolved with the audience and changing technologies ever since. Gaelic games, like RTÉ, are at the center of Irish life. They are part of the very definition of our culture and identity. RTE is proud to be in partnership with the GAA, to bring our games to an international audience and provide a sense of home from home for the Irish diaspora and GAA fans worldwide.”

The new GAAGO subscription service will be available to Gaelic games enthusiasts everywhere in the world, outside of the Island of Ireland. All 45 televised games from the 2014 All Ireland Senior Football and Hurling Championships, as broadcast by RTÉ and Sky, will be available to watch this season. A worldwide GAAGO ‘Season Pass’ (excluding the Island of Ireland and Great Britain) is priced at €110

For Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), 25 games broadcast on RTÉ Two will be available on GAAGO, but games broadcast by Sky will only be available through Sky. The GAAGO ‘GB Pass’ for Great Britain is priced at €60.

Pay-per-game priced at €10 will also be available to purchase. For the quarter-final, semi-final and final stages of the All-Ireland Championships the pay-per-game price is €14.

Games will be streamed in high-quality HD and will include full commentary, scores, and studio programming as broadcast to audiences in Ireland. Subscribers will be able to view the games online on any internet-enabled device including mobile phones, tablet devices and laptops.

The GAAGO service will begin in mid-June 2014. Until then, RTÉ Player www.rte.ie/player will provide free worldwide streaming of GAA Championship matches, to include RTÉ’s and Sky’s coverage beginning with the meeting of Tyrone and Down on Sunday, May 18. Sky-broadcast games will not be available on the RTÉ Player for audiences in Great Britain or in Ireland. The public are invited to register for further information by visiting www.gaago.ie. Subscriptions for GAAGO will be available to purchase on www.gaago.ie in the lead up to the first game being streamed on GAAGO in mid-June.

Múirne Laffan, Managing Director of RTÉ Digital, said, “We are excited to bring a new viewing experience for Gaelic games to fans worldwide. Harnessing the best of technologies, the new GAAGO streaming platform will provide fans with the flexibility of watching every match, kick and score, on any internet-enabled device no matter where they are in the world. We look forward to working with the GAA to further develop the offering over the coming seasons'.